Captain Alexander Rives Skinker (October 13, 1883 – September 26, 1918) was a Medal of Honor recipient during World War I. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1905. He served in the Missouri National Guard from 1903 to 1908, and entered the Army as a commissioned officer in 1916. He was awarded the medal for leading an attack on German pillboxes in the Hindenburg Line during the Meuse–Argonne offensive. Skinker was killed in the attack.
Alexander Rives Skinker | |
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 Medal of Honor recipient | |
| Born | October 13, 1883 St. Louis, Missouri, US |
| Died | September 26, 1918 (aged 34) Cheppy, France |
| Place of burial | Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ | Missouri National Guard US Army |
| Years of service | 1903–1908, 1916–1918 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Company I, 138th Infantry Regiment, 35th Division |
| Battles/wars | Argonne Forest, World War I |
| Awards |  Medal of Honor |
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Signature | .png){kind=small} |
Medal of Honor citation edit
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company I, 138th Infantry, 35th Division. Place and date: At Cheppy, France; September 26, 1918. Entered service at: St. Louis, Missouri. Birth: October 13, 1883; St. Louis, Missouri. General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 13 (January 18, 1919).
Citation:
Unwilling to sacrifice his men when his company was held up by terrific machinegun fire from iron pill boxes in the Hindenburg Line, Captain Skinker personally led an automatic rifleman and a carrier in an attack on the machineguns. The carrier was killed instantly, but Captain Skinker seized the ammunition and continued through an opening in the barbed wire, feeding the automatic rifle until he, too, was killed.
Military awards edit
Skinker's military decorations and awards include:[1][2]
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| 1st row | Medal of Honor | ||||||||
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| 2nd row | Mexican Border Service Medal | World War I Victory Medal w/three bronze service stars to denote credit for the St. Mihiel, Meuse-Argonne and Defensive Sector battle clasps. | Croce al Merito di Guerra (Italy) | ||||||
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Centennial History of Missouri (The Center State) - One Hundred Years in the Union 1820-1921. Vol. VI. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, St. Louis, Missouri and Chicago, Illinois. 1921. pp. 300–304. Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Gets Italian War Cross – Mrs. Skinker the Recipient of a Tribute to Her Dead Husband". The New York Times. Philadelphia. March 16, 1922. p. 17. Retrieved November 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Access Genealogy". Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
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